The book of Nehemiah in the Old Testament records the story of Nehemiah, a young Jewish man who was heartbroken over the devastation of his home city, Jerusalem. Israel had been overcome, and its young men had been carried off to serve the new Empire, a new King. The walls of Jerusalem had been severely damaged and the city lay in ruins; the people left largely unprotected. Nehemiah had been placed in the service of King Artaxerxes where he had served faithfully for a number of years, but he was downtrodden because of reports of the ruins of his home city of Jerusalem and the vulnerability of its citizens. As he prayed to God about it, one day the King asked him why he was so sad? Almost as an outburst, Nehemiah told the King of the plight of Jerusalem and summoning his courage, he asked to be able to return to his hometown to repair the broken walls of the city. Because of his faithfulness, the King agreed and Nehemiah was allowed to return home to rebuild Jerusalem. He was even given a military escort and was allowed to purchase materials from the King’s Forrest. Upon his return home, men and women lined up on both sides of the issue. Some came from neighboring districts to help with the repairs. Others scoffed and tried to intimidate them. Some even tried to take advantage of the situation to war against them. Half the men stood guard while the other half worked with their tools in one hand and a weapon in the other. But when the work was completed, their enemies were frightened and humiliated because they realized the work had been completed with the help of God. The people repented of their sins and asked God’s forgiveness, celebrated what the Lord had done, and then dedicated themselves to him.

I believe the book of Nehemiah is a picture of what the church of America needs to be about in this hour. We have allowed our Society and Government to be overrun by the enemies of God. But now, we must stand together to repair the broken wall of our Society. There will be scoffers. There will be those who try to stop us. But we must be courageous. We must repent of our sins and the sins of our Society and ask God to help us as we take back our Nation. One Nation under God. We must be watchmen on the wall. We must have workers who stand with the tools of our work in one hand and the sword of His truth in the other. We cannot afford to simply be spectators. We must be vigilant. We must consecrate ourselves daily to our God. It is not an easy work. It won’t happen overnight. But it can happen. Then, and only then, will we return to our roots as a Nation under God.

By Vic Stinemetze